1. Firstly, why the name ‘Purified’?
Well 1 peter 1:15 and 16 says "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." To be Purified is to be Holy, so for me to name myself Purified is a constant reminder that everything i do has to be done with the mindset that i am know sanctified by God, Heb12:14 says "Strive to live in peace with everybody and pursue that consecration and holiness without which no one will [ever] see the Lord." God commands us to pursue Holiness so as a Christian especially because i am in ministry this is such an important thing for me to keep in mind and the easiest way to do that is by the reminder of my name
 
2. In his latest single "Empire State of Mind," Hip Hop artist Jay Z says "Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church ends." If you were in a freestyle battle with Jay Z and that was his finishing line, what would your response be?
My freestyle response
"Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church ends."
My friend your misguided Christ is the life that the church sends,
You have what most people want cash girls money fast cars
but you lack the most important a relationship with the true God
My life is a testimony im content with G.O.D
Christ changed my life i was broken now im set free
You think you cant be saved, sins an issue of a cursed hearts
Jesus can save you, life begins where the church starts

 
3. Why do you believe Hip Hop to be an effective vehicle in conveying the gospel, and what do you think defines you from the rest of the hip-hop artists out there? Could you share with us your thoughts on artists like Jay Z, and their influence on the genre?

Firstly hip hop is so huge that it has become a world wide culture, now for us Christians we can either try create our own culture or infiltrate others, Mark 16 says to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. to me that says infiltrate their culture,so i believe that by using the Hip Hop culture against itself it will be highly effective in reaching people because we meet them where they are instead of waiting for them to come to where we are. 3 things make me different from alot of the other Christian rappers out there #1 i never liked rap at all before i started rapping,it began as a joke that God took and made into a ministry, i remember praying to God and asking him to take away the ability to rap cause i didnt want to do it but He clearly said to me "I have not given you this gift for you not to use it, now go and use it" #2 when you meet me i dont really dress or talk like a full on rapper im just me cause i havnt grown up in that so iv kept my individuality in it and #3 High energy shows, i watch 90% of Christian rappers standing still on stage rapping without interacting with the crowd,sure it sounds great but they just need to relax a bit and try not look so hardcore and the shows would be brilliant, so i have alot of fun on stage i really try mix with the crowd chat with them get them on stage with me and dance around, im not afraid to look foolish, David would have looked foolish standing infront of a 9foot giant with some stones Jesus would have looked foolish hanging on a cross. its ok to look foolish cause Gods in it.

Personally im not a fan of jay-z's syle so i never listen to the dude, but he does have a huge influence because he is a talented guy, people do hang off his words which is not good especially if people are listening to what you quoted in the previous question. But with all secular artists 90% of what they say is negative and damaging, the lifestyle they promote the words the use to describe things none of its good, so i guess us as Christian artists really need to be mature and stand up with the truth, the youth are being shaped and moulded by trash so its up to us to do something about it. We need to strategise how our influence can become greater and the easiest way to do that is through the church. Jay-z isnt going up to fans on the street and saying hi and hanging out with them, but us Christian artists SHOULD we must never think so highly of ourselves that we are above our fans we do this to SERVE not to be served, Christian artists should hang around after shows so if anyone wants to chat with them they are available to pour into their lives
 
4. Who are some of your biggest influences that have allowed you to be the artist and entertainer you are today? What continues to motivate and inspire you?
I am heavily influenced by Jesus and Paul the Apostle. They both were so determined to reach people i want that same passion so i will always study them.

Musically my top dude is Lecrae iv had the privilege of touring with him 3 times now. His passion has really helped shape the way i do music especially his passion for the lost and he puts on a great show.also Everyday Process, Tony Stone, Tedashii, Braille the list could go on forever.

Spiritually my top people are John Bevere, Judah Smith, Jentezen Franklin, Bill Johnson, RC Sproul, Christine Caine, Brian Houston, Rahel Schweikle (her passion for prayer is incredible and discipline for the Word is second to none, amazing woman).

My motivation is really simple when i see people transformed by what i do that inspires me to keep doing it. Knowing that you have made a difference in young peoples lives is such a rewarding feeling.

 
5. What has the response been to your latest album 'Dont Hold Back’, particularly in Australia and in the US? Are you proud of your work, and in your eyes, do you believe it has fulfilled its purpose and what you wanted it to achieve?
The response has been great according to Koorong it has become the Highest and fastest selling Australian Christian hip hop album in history and thats all GOD!!not me cause i could never orchestrate that. The USA has taken to it quite well also a lot of the Artists from the USA have been telling me there is a lot of buzz about my album and me as a Christian minister so i thought that was pretty cool. i am definitly proud of what i have put out, I have had so many emails and myspace/facebook messages tell me how a song that i have written has brought revelation or impacted a life and changed mindsets so im really happy with it.
The purpose of this album is twofold i wanted to make an album which Glorifies God and commisions the message of evangelism and worship but i also wanted to put Australia on the map and show the world that there is great Christian hip hop that can compete with the Americans out here, on the album i have a few featured artists Rahel Schweikle (Germany) and a few Americans K-Drama, Braille, Sean Slaughter, Mark Arthur and Tony Stone (who also produced the whole album) all of these artists are great their focus is presenting the Cross to a dying generation, it was a lot of fun working with them especially Tony he is a great man of faith.

6. What was it in your personal journey that made you want to pursue a career in Christian music? Did you find it more difficult being under the label of Christian when entering the music industry? I've always loved music but i never thought i was talented enough to do it so i never did until i was 17 sitting in a room full of non christian mates(we were all into metal music), there were instruments all around us so my friends were all playing and i was sitting there so i starting screaming into the mic, everyone stopped and said dude that was great so i started my music career in metal bands as their singer, i would write covert Christian lyrics so i didnt sound too preachy but after a while i thought what was the point so i left that and went to bible college to study, during bible college i started break dancing which led me to listen to Cross movement. after many injuries i stopped breaking finished bible college and was wondering what to do i didnt have any opportunities to preach or minister so i was unsure of where i was going. then i started rapping as a joke with a friend which later took off into what im doing now. But what made me really pursue it was the first freestyle battle i did i won it and 2 guys gave their lives to God so i thought God can definitly use this. i love being under the label of a Christian artist it defines who i am, my art is Christianity which i put on display for all to see. I find a lot of people respect what i do especially when i tell them where i have been and what God has done through me and when they see i am a normal guy, i dont smash them with bible verses and tell them what they have done wrong but instead i encourage them with Gods Word and purpose for their lives and i think thats why whenever i go to award shows or industry nights people feel like they can connect with me
and walk away feeling better than before.

7. 2009 was a great year for you. Did you ever expect to end up where you are now? What do you hope to be achieving 2010 and where is God leading you?
2009 was CRAZY, I did more tavelling than ever before, God has opened up so many doors,  i fly off to zimbabwe in 2 days to go and perform at the Gathering which has over 10 000 in attendance and i get to minister at a whole lotta other place in zim aswell. i had dreams of where this could take me but i never thought that i would really get there, that shows how amazing God is that He will take your dreams and make them a reality and exceed them aswell. 2010 is gonna start off huge for me im preaching and performing at a few summer beach camps then i fly off to the USA for a 3 week tour in NYC Philly and VA i then fly to Germany where ill be living for the next few months and touring in Holland, Switzerland Germany and Sweden and wherever else God opens a door.

I also plan on getting married while im over there to the Love of my life Rahel Schweikle so its gonna be an amazing few months
ill be returning to Sydney on sept 2nd and jumping into the Big exo day tours.
God is doing some cool things with me, He is leading me to preach more which is what i really want to do, so more opportunities are opening for that and the constant moulding and shaping me into the man He wants me to become so i can be more effective in what im doing

If you want to keep up with what im doing as i travel i have an email list where i send out info about where im gonna be and ill send you a brand new song which i recorded recently called New Creation it features Iz-Real from Everyday Process (Cross movement) and Rahel Schweikle. if you would like to be on that mailing list send an email through to genera[at]purifiedministries[dot]com

You can also connect with me on
www.facebook.com/purified
www.myspace.com/purifiedtestimony
www.twitter.com/purifiedhiphop
and www.purifiedministries.com

Thanks for your time and congrats on your recent engagement to Rahel! We can't wait to see what you get up to next. Oh and before you go, as always in our interviews we gotta ask, what are you favourite

**DOWNLOAD PURIFIED'S ALBUM - DON'T HOLD BACK